Yes
74% (713)

No
26% (254)

A bill to allow religious symbols on war memorials — introduced in response to a court decision declaring the cross at Mount Soledad unconstitutional — cleared the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

The bill, which does not explicitly mention the memorial in San Diego, is yet another development in the two-decade-long saga over the 29-foot cross.

House Resolution 290, introduced by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, and co-sponsored by Republican Reps. Brian Bilbray of Solana Beach and Darrell Issa of Vista would not resolve the constitutionality of the cross. However, it would for the first time give statutory protection to religious symbols in all war memorials.

Critics of the legislation said it was unnecessary and inappropriate because determining the constitutionality of religious symbols rests with the courts.

Speaking from the House floor, Hunter said the time-honored tradition of placing symbols of belief at memorials and national cemeteries was under attack by civil liberty groups. The first version of the Mount Soledad cross was erected in 1913 and the current one is now owned by the federal government. At its base are more than 3,000 symbols and plaques paying tribute to war veterans.

The memorial through all its years as a fixture of the community has had one stated purpose: to remember those who have fought and died for this nation, Hunter said.

Some 48 emblems of belief — including those for atheists, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and Muslims — appear at 131 national cemeteries under the purview of the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to Hunter’s office.

“There is no preference for one symbol over another — the way that things should be,” Hunter said. “In the face of persistent legal challenges and the threat of more to come it’s important that we install the right protection for war memorials in federal law allowing the spirit and tradition of honoring our nation’s military to continue.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego & Imperial Counties, which represents clients opposed to government ownership of the cross, stressed that the bill would have no impact on the Mount Soledad case. David Loy, legal director for the ACLU in San Diego, said Congress cannot authorize the government to violate the Constitution — something the bill doesn’t do.

“If a court were to look at this bill it would say ‘All it’s really saying is if it were constitutional in the facts of a given case then yeah, sure, this particular site could have a religious symbol,’” Loy said in a telephone interview. ‘“But if it’s not constitutional it can’t.’”

“I think it’s kind of a meaningless bill, frankly.”

The property of the memorial has been under the control of the Defense Department since 2006, when Congress passed a law authorizing the transfer of the land from the city for use as a war memorial. The federal government was sued, and a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year that the structure in La Jolla was an unconstitutional sign of government favoring religion.

However, the appeals court did not order the monument removed and instead returned the case to federal court in San Diego to determine if the cross must be moved or if it could be modified to pass constitutional scrutiny as part of the war memorial.

The Department of Justice has until Feb. 11 to ask the Supreme Court to hear the Mount Soledad cross case. For now, the 9th circuit ruling stands until or unless the Supreme Court grants review.

Religious symbols are not barred from being used in any military memorials, according to the analysis by the Congressional Budget Office.

The bill codifies current the practice and ensures that all war memorials with religious symbols are protected under federal law, Bilbray said on the floor of the House. There, he pointed to the walls of the chambers, to images of Moses, Pope Innocent, Pope Gregory and Calvin.

“If you are not going to stand up and demand that this Congress tear those plaques off these walls then for God sakes leave our war memorials alone and don’t tear down religious symbols just because you’re intolerant and can’t stand the fact that there are some of us that respect our war service and respect their faith but most importantly respect the heritage that has made America what it is today,” said Bilbray, who has four family plaques at the memorial on Mount Soledad.

Charles LiMandri, a San Diego lawyer and longtime cross supporter, said it was important to send a strong message to the Supreme Court.

“They’ll be getting this case hopefully about the same time this passes the Senate and is signed by the president,” he said.